Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Judge rules Tony the Tiger can't stay at truck stop
Posted by Alex Woodward on Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 4:26 PM
Following a legal battle among Baton Rouge courts, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin, a judge today ruled that Sandlin's big cat — a 550-pound Bengal-Siberian tiger — can no longer be kept at the truck stop.
This afternoon, Judge Michael Caldwell ruled that Sandlin's current permit to keep the cat (issued by the LDWF) was illegally issued, must be revoked, and can't be renewed. "We're delighted," said ALDF communications director Lisa Franzetta. "The judge got the letter of law right."
In April, the ALDF slapped a lawsuit against the LDWF and its secretary Robert Barham, arguing that he "violated state law in granting a permit allowing Sandlin to exhibit Tony at the Tiger Truck Stop," in particular Act 715, prohibiting citizens from keeping a tiger as a pet or exhibiting a tiger in the state, grandfathering in individuals who legally owned big cats as of August 15, 2006. But, ALDF argued, "These owners would need to apply for an annual permit from the LDWF. An ordinance passed in Sandlin’s parish of Iberville in 1993 made it illegal for anyone to keep a tiger or other large exotic cat on his or her premises for exhibition. In other words, Sandlin did not qualify for the exception because he was not in legal possession of Tony." So that's that.
In August, Caldwell ruled to review the case to include Sandlin in the hearing. Today, Caldwell sided with ALDF.
"Our concerns are the conditions in which Tony is kept," Franzetta said. She said the organization wants to
ensure Tony has the resources to "make sure he ends up at a sanctuary" for big cats.
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Comments (3)
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Thank God there is a sensible Judge in LA. To hell with Sanlin and all that are like him! Tony will now have a great life at Big Cat Rescue. No more diesel fuel, no more tiny cage. Now he will be properly cared for.
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This is GREAT news! its so sad to think of this beautiful animal in this tiny cage in the middle of all these 18 wheelers and fumes, people throwing things at him and taunting him. He should have never been there in the first place. At least he'll be able to live the rest of his life in a beautiful place thats more like where he should have been all along. Hopefully Sandlin and other people like him will realize that these animals are not "pets."
Tony was never in a tiny cage. Big Cat Sanctuary has smaller cages than what Tony is in now and I have been to both places. Not that anybody should be trapped at a truck stop. But Tony has been there as a cub and is probably going to be scared as heck when he hears all the other cats roaring and not have Sandlin there. This is a well fed cat with no beatings, just misplaced. The problem with exotics is there is no truly decent place for them, especially since their habitat is greatly reduced and the Chinese are hunting them to extinction. Note I am not say Tony should be allowed to go in the wild, there is no wild and he would not know how to survive. There is a place in Colorado that has the most wide open space, but wherever he goes, it will be a big shock to him.
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